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Feb 14 - 17, 2006

Monday was a little rocky with feelings of almost being queasy and heat in my head, above my brain. A quiet practice and then sleep for 2-3 hours put things right and I felt ready for the Monday evening class. It was perfect for recovering and I am glad I had not decided to stay home. It began with a long Sirsasana and variations, then lots of working Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana over the chair and a long Sarvangasana and variations. I am sure Geeta used the class to begin to prepare us for back bend week. Whatever the reason, it was very reviving and definitely challenging.

At times I find my self 'concerned' at the beginning of a class that I may not be ready for, or able to meet some challenge that will be presented. At the end of the class I always decide that the challenge was worth meeting and that I have always learned something; often that I am capable of more than I recognize. For me this is always a big lesson, and I seem to have to learn it over and over.

The Tuesday evening class with Prashant was again profound. This week he had us doing forward bends as a way to explain how to deepen our practice and understanding of the reasons to practice asana. "A yogic asana is light years away from all of us." he stated. What we do is an exercise because we get caught up in the technology and we get stuck on working on our various "conditions". Of course, he also says that we must work on our conditions. Do Janu Sirsasana in such a manner that the knee is accurate and not in jeopardy, do it so that the lumbar gets extended if you have a problem there. But at some point we must take it further and "do" the asana from more central and inclusive points of view, always being aware of the parts too, but being aware of how the parts interact and affect each other and then adjust accordingly. We must do the pose to learn and when we learn we must do the pose in order to get the pose.

We spent long moments first on one side in Janu Sirsasana and then the other and sometimes listening to Prashant explain or take questions from students. We went occasionally to other forward bends so that the mind could come back to Janu Sirsasana in a fresh state. Slowly the pose evolved and some understanding began to come.

In contrast, this morning's Ladies' Class was much more active and it produced a different kind of learning. We began back bend week. Geeta has the gift of being able to teach many poses or repetitions of poses in the two hour class, but also to have us hold many of them for significant amounts of time. I think she has the ability to stretch out seconds. It was a big class and quite a few women were on the side lines either with the menstrual sequence or because they were not feeling well, so Geeta had a lot to attend to. Sirsasana, Adho Mukha Vrksasana and Pincha Myaruasana, the latter two poses repeated several times started the class. Then we stood and worked on arching back, over and over. She stopped several times to use different students to demonstrate. These were very helpful as they gave a visual clue to what she was talking about. One couldn't move her tailbone in, until Geeta adjusted her; others had stiff, unresponsive places in their abdomens, lower or upper thoracic spines. Geeta changed them all so we could see the difference between a pose that was incorrect or even harmful and one that was progressing.

We moved on to Ustrasana, facing away from the wall and arching back to take or hands on the wall at shoulder height, similar to the position in Urdhva Danurasana. We finished with a dynamic Sarvangasana and a lovely Savasana.

I finished the day with three friends on another shopping trip to Wonderland and that area. Katheleen was exchanging some sandals that did not fit and ended up getting several more. Lynlee was suitcase shopping and Richard bedspread shopping and picked out two great Indian outfits for his nieces. We had great fun encouraging each other to shop. When you are shopping for cloth or clothing the shopkeepers bring out more and more and spread it all out in front of you. Pretty soon there will be a lovely mound of colors and textures and sparkle. It always amazes me hoe quickly they can refold and put things away, ready to do the same thing for the next customer. I stopped by my favorite Kashmiri shop and took a picture of the proprietor and his son.

Friday night around 6:50 pm and I had already lost track of the number of times we had arched up into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana and Danurasana, had arched back into Ustrasana and were then pushing up into Urdhva Danurasana. My muscles weren't complaining so much as was my brain. There was still more than an hour of class and "what could possibly come next, how would I manage" kept surfacing in my mind. I kept pushing that thought out and concentrated on completely letting go between poses and listening to Geeta's instructions. Each time I was able to do the pose and was present enough to process what she was telling us. It was during what seemed like endless repetitions of Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana that my thighs began to call for attention. I wasn't the only one. By 7:30 we had moved on to the intermediate stage of Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana (with the back leg straight). Because we had been so well prepared by all the other back bends our bodies responded well and I think some real learning took place.

As we cleaned up after class I was afraid that the bowl of instant oatmeal I had planned for dinner might not be enough, but it along with some cereal turned out to be perfect. It is possible now to buy many Western foods here and I have been enjoying a box of Kellogg's Wheat Flakes with the cow's milk that is also available now. Most dairy products are made with buffalo milk and it is much too rich for my system.

Today is Saturday, and after the morning class (more backbends) I am not sure what we will do. We may drive out to the Gandhi Memorial. It is the place where he was incarcerated at the end of his life and where he died. You can peek into the rooms where he spent his last days and see the bed and other furnishings he used. There is a quiet spirituality about the place. The building and gardens are on a hill above the city of Pune and the air is a little cleaner and the gardens are always peaceful. Going there would be a nice break from the busy, noisy city.